I Carry You in My Heart
by PhoebeSnow
Summary: Rey and Finn finally confess their feelings for each other.


**A/N: This was my very first Finnrey fanfiction. I hope you guys will enjoy it! :D**

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On Jakku, every day had been survival. No one made idle small talk with each other or showed any kind of concern for another person. Of course, there **was** the occasional intimacy expressed among the locals. Two lovers holding hands or exchanging a kiss.

Rey often wondered what it was like to be affectionate with someone like that, but she was at a loss about how she'd even go about doing it. After all, she lived alone and was used to being alone. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind. She had to look out for herself because no one else cared about her.

That changed after Rey met Finn. For the first time in her entire life, she genuinely liked another person. Even though they had only known each other for barely a year, Finn had quickly taken up residence in Rey's heart. And it was funny because when they met, she'd been inclined to think badly of him. Not to mention how aggravated she was with him for taking her hand when they ran from those storm troopers.

In her mind, the only man who had the right to touch her that way was the one she loved, and she didn't even **know** if love would be in her future. It seemed to be her destiny to wait on Jaaku for whoever left her there to come back. Waiting and surviving took precedence in her life.

The truth was Rey had no idea whether the persons or persons who left her on Jaaku even remembered her, but she had held onto hope for years. It was the only thing that kept her going. However, after Takodana, Rey painfully realised that there was no reason for her to go back to Jaaku. Even though she'd left the sandy planet, it never had been a true home to her. Rey had no home. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

She had Finn.

Sweet, innocent, loyal Finn who came back for her when she was captured and taken to star killer base. On Takodana, he had been so adamant about running from the first order and her coming with him that she almost said yes. But she couldn't. For some reason, Rey felt compelled to bring the BB8 unit to the resistance.

After Finn chose to leave, Rey felt like her heart had broken all over again. The awful feeling of abandonment choked her and she felt alone once more. After she managed to escape from her restraints on the star killer base and get away, the last thing she expected was to run into Finn, Han and Chewbacca.

Then the Wookie told her that it was all Finn's idea to come find her and before she knew what she was doing, she embraced him.

 _Thank you for coming back for me,_ she'd said, emotion pouring out of her like an ocean wave.

In response, Finn's arms came up to hold her to him and he hugged her like she was the most precious person in the galaxy to him. Rey had never hugged anyone before, but after that moment, she believed that she could hug Finn every day for the rest of her life and she would be perfectly content with it.

Now that time had passed and she'd grown to be more open and accepting of touches, Rey realised that it was an instinctual reaction in Finn that made him grab her hand when they ran from the storm troopers on Jakku. He didn't mean to be rude or invasive, but he wanted to protect her.

That was something she had been completely unaccustomed to, but she now understood that she wanted to protect him, too.

When she came back to the resistance with Luke, she inquired on Finn's whereabouts, and to her surprise, he was working with a group of young resistance fighters, teaching them how to use blasters. From what she saw, he was a very good teacher and his students had a lot of respect for Finn. That made her heart swell with pride for him.

Rey patiently waited for him to finish his class and stayed in the back as every rebel exited the class. Then she made her way to the front of the room and threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. To her joy, he returned the embrace affectionately.

She had so much to tell him, so much she wanted to say, but for that moment, she just wanted to hold him. They stayed together for so long that General Organa came looking for them. However, when she saw the two of them together, she told Finn to take the rest of the day off and continue catching up with his friend.

 _Friend._

Rey certainly liked to think of Finn as her friend, but it wasn't a word that could properly describe his presence in her life anymore. On Ahch-To, Luke had become a bit exasperated with her because he could sense how much she thought about Finn and it impeded with her training.

After five months on the island, he told her that they should go and see how Finn was faring so she could move on with her training and cease the distraction, but to Rey, Finn was anything **but** a distraction.

Rey was unfamiliar to love, but she truly believed that the happiness she felt whenever she saw Finn's face, the chills that ran down her spine when he touched her, the butterflies that filled her stomach when he kissed her forehead - _oh,_ did she _love_ it when he did that to her - were all signs that she had fallen for him.

The brunette turned her head to Finn, who currently sat next to her on her bed in her quarters, talking about something he and Poe recently found on the new planet the resistance moved to. It was a long, green thing called a cucumber and he'd brought her a couple because he knew how much she liked to try different foods.

While Rey had been pleased by this, she had it in her mind to tell Finn how she felt about him. She was nervous, but she had no idea how long she and Luke would stay at the resistance base before they went back to Ahch-to to resume her training. She didn't want to leave, but since she had to at some point, she decided that it'd be best to make her declaration now so there'd be no regrets when she left.

There was a chance he wouldn't return her feelings, but if he only saw her as a friend, at least they could have that. (Rey really, _really_ hoped that he felt the same way though, because she rather liked holding his hand and exchanging forehead kisses with him. However, there were _other_ things she wanted to do with him and _to_ him that went well beyond the bounds of mere friendship.)

Rey touched Finn's shoulders and turned him to face her.

He'd been in the middle of talking, so her sudden action made him crinkle his brow. "Is something wrong, Rey?"

This was it. This was the time to say it. Rey opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. So, she just slid a hand around his neck and pulled him to her until their lips were touching, and oh _my_ , what a delicious sensation it was.

Rey used to think that food tasted great, but Finn's lips were a hundred times better. They were soft and full and she sighed, letting her body lean against his. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could swear that he felt it, too. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and a groan escaped from his mouth.

 _He wants this!_ She thought in excitement.

Needless to say, the kissing continued until they had to pull away from each other to breathe. As they took in more air, Finn gave Rey an awkward smile. "What was that about?"

"I...I've been wanting to do that for a while, now."

"Well, great minds think alike, because so have I."

"Oh. Any particular reason?"

A faint blush appeared on Finn's cheeks and Rey resisted the urge to kiss him again. She stayed where she was, not wanting to put any more distance between them than she had to. An inappropriate thought about how far down that blush of his went crossed her mind.

Maybe today would be her lucky day to find out.

Finn looked away for a moment, but then he slowly looked back into her eyes, took her hand in his and entwined their fingers. His gaze was warm and intense as he replied, "Because I love you."

Rey gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at the man in front of her. "D-do you really mean that?"

"Yes." Finn stroked her knuckles with his thumb. "I fell in love with you when we first met. I know it sounds crazy, but I promise it's the truth. You became my friend in just a few days, Rey, and I never knew what it was like to have someone that close to me. In the first order, we were never given names, just designations. We had to be emotionless and obedient."

"I don't know how I managed to avoid being brainwashed like the rest of the storm troopers. Maybe it was the force, but what I _do_ know is whether it was luck or something else, it brought me to _you_. I don't think that was an accident."

"I agree. When I was training with Luke, he said he could sense how strongly I felt towards you."

Finn's eyebrows rose in surprise. "He did?"

"Yeah...and he told me that attachments could be dangerous which is why the Jedi were so adamant against them, but I think they were wrong. Having people in your life that you love, people you care for, it doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong. Life is always better when you have someone by your side. And for me, that person is you, Finn."

The bright look on his face gave Rey the courage to tell him what she'd been wanting to say for so long. "We may have been apart for many months, but you never left me. I thought of you every day. I carry you in my heart and that's where I want you to stay forever." She raised her hand to his cheek. "I love you, Finn."

"Rey..." Finn's voice came out hoarse and he pulled her into his embrace, kissing her passionately.

She moaned into the kiss and clung to him, feeling so overwhelmed and shaken by the power of her desire for him. Together, they stayed like that, wrapped in a lover's embrace, neither planning to let go any time soon. After the longest time of being alone and believing that no one wanted her, Rey felt loved and so, _so_ happy.

Being here, like this with Finn in her arms, she had truly found her home.


End file.
